Getting out of Edinburgh – A day out at Ayr Races

Every year, Ayr Racecourse plays host to two of the most prestigious meetings of the British horse racing season. The Scottish Grand National meeting, which takes place just one week after the main Grand National event, and the Ayr Gold Cup meeting will both attract tens of thousands of spectators to Scotland’s primary racecourse as they look to beat the bookies and return home with hefty profits.

The Scottish Grand National weekend is truly one of the nation’s greatest sporting spectacles. Although it doesn’t compete with the traditional event in terms of size, there are still some phenomenal racehorses entered into the race on a yearly basis and the Scottish National tends to throw up a few shocks or two throughout the race weekend.

In addition, there are plenty of family-friendly activities to keep the children entertained. Ayr is one of the best racecourses for providing additional entertainment; whether that’s live music or additional games to take part in around the racetrack. Sometimes, they even have a jockey simulator – which shows you exactly what it’s like to be a jockey when you’re approaching fences and how it feels on landing.

Then we have the Ayr Gold Cup meeting in September, which spans three days – a day longer than the Scottish Grand National weekend. Over the years, some of the top-rated racehorses in the sport have featured in the Ayr Gold Cup and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see the best trainers, jockeys and thoroughbreds in action later in 2016.

However, if you simply cannot wait for either of these events, you can check out the Cheltenham Festival, which is the next major meeting in 2016. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that there will be many Scottish jockeys involved – especially after Ryan Mania retired in 2014 – but it will still be a superb event and many Scots will travel down to the meeting. In the build-up to the event, you can keep up with Cheltenham tips from different Cheltenham insiders.

The two Ayr festivals are among the greatest meetings on the horse racing calendar but Cheltenham can help to give you a different perspective of an English festival. You won’t be alone as plenty of Scots will head down to the racecourse and if you simply cannot attend one of the Ayr meetings, Cheltenham is the next best place to go!

“The Eglinton stands, Ayr race course – geograph.org.uk – 43204” by william craig.

Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Commons